5 Essential Productivity Tips For Small Businesses

4 min read

Efficiency and productivity are the keys to success for any business. However, achieving them is easier said than done, as there is no one size fits all solution for any business.

So how exactly can you help your employees become more efficient and productive? To help you out, we’ve prepared five tips that you can apply to your workplace to increase the overall level of productivity:

1. Establish Workplace Culture

When it comes to your employee’s performance, workplace culture plays a huge role. Think of workplace culture as your company’s “personality”.

The attitude, values and behaviours that attract and retain team members who align with your workplace culture.

In other words: Culture determines how your employees interact with their work and your business. 

Establishing a company’s work culture can be as simple as setting standards and making responsibilities clear. Your employees have to know what’s expected of them and the level of quality that your company upholds. 

While this may seem over-simplistic, doing small things like embodying your company’s values on a daily basis and being open to communication goes a long way in improving your employees’ productivity.

2. Prioritize Work-Life Balance

One common misconception is that poor productivity is a stand-alone problem. When in reality, it’s a symptom of something greater.

If you find your employees performing poorly chances are, they may be burnt out. Burnout is a serious issue that can wreak havoc in your workplace.

In fact, the World Health Organization has classified burnout as an occupational phenomenon, as it’s really starting to take a toll on people’s health.

One way you can avoid employee burnout is by prioritizing work-life balance. Make sure that your employees are clocking out on time and have enough time for themselves. You can also encourage them to take more breaks. While this may seem counterproductive, you’ll immediately notice a change in how your employees approach work.

Recommended Reading: The Ultimate Guide to 24/7 Employee Scheduling

3. Invest in Your Workspace

The state of your workplace itself can do a lot to improve your employees’ productivity. This shouldn’t be too surprising, as a workplace that’s more conducive for work will lead to your employees performing better.

One small change you can make to your workplace that’ll make a huge difference is ergonomic accessories. 

By making use of accessories such as ergonomic keyboards and monitor stands, your employees will start feeling more comfortable at work. This should lead to a bump in productivity, as they’ll be able to focus more when there is less stress being put on their bodies.

4. Lessen Meetings

It may seem counterintuitive to ease off on meetings to increase productivity but the Zoom fatigue is real.

While you might think that meetings can help your employees get the job done, this may not always be the case. An article published by CNBC highlights how meetings can be productivity killers. This is due to the fact that meetings can prevent your employees from finishing their tasks.

Before calling for a meeting, evaluate whether or not the meeting is actually necessary. If it can be communicated via email, it may be best to forego the meeting altogether.

Recommended Reading: 3 Reasons to Make the Switch From Manual to Automated Scheduling

5. Communicate Effectively

Nobody can deny that communication is a crucial aspect of any company. Without proper and effective communication, no one will know what they have to do. This could slow things down and effectively reduce your employees’ overall productivity levels. And make it easier for all employees and managers to communicate by using staff communication software

One thing you can do to promote this is to have a clear chain of command. Your team should know who to address their concerns to and who their immediate superior is. Doing this helps everyone identify problems easily and solve them quickly and efficiently.

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